Reviews Concert with the Oviedo Filarmonía

November 5, 2018

Tremendous. American tenor Gregory Kunde, singing to a full house last night in Oviedo’s Auditorio Príncipe Felipe, brought spectators to their feet over and over again, with a memorable performance that had viewers standing after every piece, applauding enthusiastically and filling the air with bravos. Iván Román (La Nueva España).

During the performance Kunde was direct, intimate, showing himself to be a radical Verdian tenor, while arias such as Puccini’s ‘Nessun dorma’ also showed us the verismofacets of this great artist. The Zarzuela romanza offered at the very end was not only a nod to the audience but also an extremely correct version, well-phrased and even containing a little variation when, over the words ‘no sé fingir’ (I don’t know how to pretend) he repeated the ‘no sé’ bit (I don’t know how). The truth is that Kunde does notknow how to pretend, because he is truthful and direct. Ramón Avello (El Comercio)

Gregory Kunde was masterful and seemed to ‘own’ everything emitted at the Auditorio de Oviedo. Yes, the sounds, of course, but especially the silences.

How he managed to have the entire audience in suspense after singing just a few phrases is a mystery, but rarely have I seen an audience as quiet as this one while waiting for a singer’s next note. This is what happened when Kunde first stepped on stage, right after a vibrant and lively interpretation of the overture of La Forza del Destino.

The truth is, having been seated in the fifth row, it is extremely difficult for me to describe Kunde’s voice and not speak with great zeal. However, what I will say is that, in short, he is a superlative tenor, with absolutely beautiful harmonics in the medium and high register, which, by the way, he shows off with a projection that would be more expected of an extraterrestrial than a man of his age and circumstances. Javier Labrada (Platea Magazine)